Thursday, September 04, 2008

Fall is here, I need recipes!!

This is a view up into the tree in our yard. Trust me when I say there are approximately 3741 more of these apples on the ground. (We've created a new family sport: the kids gather up the apples and throw them over the fence into the field behind our house, for the deer to eat. We compete for distance and accuracy!)

I know I should do something with all these apples, other than throw them, of course. Years ago, my grandfather grafted many different types of apples onto this tree, so it now produces apples with a mix of colors, flavors, and textures. Perhaps I'm intimidated by the memories I have of my grandmother making her "famous" Chunky Applesauce with these apples. It was, quite simply, the best applesauce in the world. Living up to that standard would be hard, I fear, even using descendants of the exact same apples she used.

Mom assures me that making applesauce is easy. Peal, core, and chop the apples (removing any worms, of course, I remember Grandma doing that step; worms make a big impression when you're little), and boil them in a pot of water with a lot of sugar. But looking for slightly more specific recipes on-line grabbed me 1 million in 0.13 seconds. Some use a mix of brown and white sugar, some add cinnamon and/or, some use NO sugar at all!

So, if you have any suggestions or other recipes for mixed-variety, slightly wormy apples, let me know! For now, I'm going to go referee an apple tossing contest out back!

3 comments:

Dave said...

Worms? I'm glad I didn't know about that at the time. Eew.

But if you make some Lumpy Applesauce, I'll get on the next plane to have some.

Anonymous said...

Here is a good recipe for apple butter. I've tried this one before and like it. Just thought I'd toss that out there!! Applesauce is basically the same thing, but without the sugar and spices. We like without sugar just fine! :) Have fun eating...or throwing!!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I'll be keeping my eye on these responses! While we don't have a great apple tree (does one apple on it count? sigh.) but look forward to farmer's market apples!